


Perfectly Imperfect

by PunkyRH



Series: Downton Abbey One-Shots, Drabbles and Ficlets: The Lives of the Crawleys and their Servants [1]
Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: F/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-21 00:14:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21065549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PunkyRH/pseuds/PunkyRH
Summary: Mary, Matthew, and George go out for a picnic. After a series of unfortunate events, Mary and Matthew are reminded of how unpredictable life is and how nothing is ever perfect. Obvious AU, one-shot.





	Perfectly Imperfect

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! I hope you enjoy my very first DA fic! I am working on an AU story/series where Matthew and Sybil live (So many AU fics have one or the other living but often not both). However, I wanted to try my hand at some shorter, sillier fics first. That way I have some practice with the characters before I attempt putting them all together in one story. I will probably do more M/M fics, as well as fics with Sybil, Edith, Tom, Cora, Robert, Violet and Isobel to practice with them. I might do some fics with focuses on servants like Mr. Carson, Mrs. Hughes, Anna and John Bates etc.
> 
> So, without further comment from me, enjoy my first one-shot.

Mary Crawley awoke to the sunlight pouring through her bedroom window. She stirred, her eyes fluttering open. She blinked twice and yawned. As she woke, she found the bed feeling emptier than usual. She turned over and noticed that Matthew had already gotten up. 

She sat up slowly, looking around for any sign of him. When she didn’t see him, she turned to Anna, who was quietly moving around the room, straightening things and opening the rest of the curtains.

“Anna, have you seen Matthew?” Mary asked sitting fully upright.

“No, I’m afraid not, milady,” Anna said, taking Mary’s breakfast tray and giving it to her.

“How odd… he didn’t say he had anything to do today…” Mary said, mostly to herself.

“Would you like me to go look for him?” 

“Would you? I just would like to know where he has gone off to.”

Anna nodded and left the room, leaving Mary alone once again. Mary began to eat slowly, glancing around the room she and Matthew shared. Her thoughts drifted to where Matthew might be. She assumed he was out on the estate or busy discussing some plan with Tom. She sighed. He hadn’t said he had to go out early, and she really liked waking next to him. It gave her a sense that everything was right. 

When she was mostly finished with her breakfast, Matthew appeared, carrying George. Mary’s eyes widened in surprise. Matthew was wearing his cream colored vest, white shirt, tie and cream colored cap. George was in a similar looking outfit, that fit his little body perfectly.

“Matthew! I thought you’d gone out to look over the estate,” she said. “And why are you carrying George?”

“Well…” Matthew began slowly. “I realized that we hadn’t spent much time together, so I thought I’d take a day and we could all go out as a family.” Matthew saw Mary’s skeptical look and his face fell slightly. “Unless, of course, you don’t want to…”

Mary noticed that she was frowning slightly, so she quickly replaced it with a smile. “No, I think it is a lovely idea. I was just slightly put off that you got up without any word of where you’d gone.”

“I had a few things I needed to get ready before we could go,” Matthew said, his lips quirking upwards into a smile. “And I didn’t want to wake you.”

Mary couldn’t help but smile more. Matthew made her feel so much like a giggly little schoolgirl. And she loved the little things he did, no matter how nontraditional they were. George was smiling at his parents and clapping his little hands.

“Well, go on then. I’ll get ready and be down in a bit,” Mary said, moving the tray off her lap. 

Matthew nodded and turned and left the room. Mary rang for Anna and her lady’s maid came very quickly. 

“I’m terribly sorry milady, but I couldn’t find him,” Anna said, looking disappointed in her failure. 

Mary waved her hand dismissively. “It’s alright, Anna. He came to my room just a few minutes ago to inform me that he wants to go on an outing, as a family.”

Anna smiled. “That’s wonderful! I’m sure whatever he has planned will be good fun.”

Mary nodded. “Yes, I’m sure it will be.” 

Anna pulled a dress down for Mary to wear and she got her ready as quickly as she could. While Anna was putting the last of the pins in Mary’s hair, Mary glanced up at Anna from the mirror. 

“Anna, why don’t you take the morning off? I won’t be back till later in the afternoon and I’m sure Mrs. Hughes won’t mind, considering you won’t have anything to do,” Mary said, pulling her gloves on.

“Why thank you, milady,” Anna said, stepping back and letting Mary finish primping her hair.

As soon as Mary was really ready, she came down the grand stairs and found Matthew standing there, still holding George. He smiled at her as she came down. 

“Are you ready to go?” He asked. 

“Yes, I am,” Mary said, giving him a quick kiss after noticing that no one was really around. “Are you going to tell me what we are doing?”

Matthew gave her a charming smile. “Would you be terribly mad at me if I didn’t?” 

Mary felt her insides flutter at Matthew’s smile. That smile and those eyes always enchanted her and made it terribly hard for her to say no. And, he obviously didn’t want to tell, so she wouldn’t ruin his fun by being a spoilsport. She sighed. “Alright, I won’t press you.”

“Thank you, darling. I promise you won’t regret it.”

“I hope so because I won’t forgive you if it isn’t,” Mary said teasingly.

Matthew chuckled. “Then I must hope you find it worth it,” he said teasing her back.

He gave George to Mary and headed towards the door and out to the waiting car. There were no servants around, so it was clear that Matthew had gotten this ready all by himself. 

He got in and sat down, putting his arm on the door, smiling. Mary sat down next to him, George sitting in her lap. Matthew started the car and began to head down the pebble driveway. 

*********

The car headed down the road, the wind blowing in the faces of its smiling passengers. George was busy watching his father drive, Mary was leaning back, looking ahead at the straight road. Wisps of her hair had escaped the pins and were getting blown about her face. She didn’t realize how much she had missed this. 

She and Matthew had always been busy doing things and hadn’t had much time to spend together as a family. This wasn’t exactly something her type typically did, of course marrying for love wasn’t usually something her type did and yet she couldn’t imagine being with anyone else. 

Mary glanced down at George, moving a lock of hair away from his face as she often did with her husband. He looked so much like Matthew, and for that, she was thankful. She loved Matthew’s blonde hair and blue eyes. 

As the car went down the road, it began to slow. Matthew seemed to be panicking slightly and Mary frowned. What was going on? The car let out a few loud puffing noises then slowed to a halt. 

“What’s going on?” Mary asked, looking at Matthew who was already getting out of the car.

“I’m not sure, I had Tom check the car this morning, before we left,” He said, opening the hood to look inside. 

When he did, smoke came out, causing him to cough and step back. Once the smoke cleared he carefully peered inside. Matthew knew a little about cars, but he had no tools or anything to fix whatever might be the issue.

After locating what he thought was the issue, he shut the hood and climbed back in the car.

“The good news is that I don’t think what happened to the car is very major…” Matthew began.

“And the bad news?” Mary said, very well knowing there was more.

Matthew sighed. “I can’t fix it.”

Mary nodded slowly. “I assume you told someone we were leaving,” she said, gently pulling George back into her lap as he tried to climb out.

“Yes, I did.”

“Did you tell anyone where we were going?”

“No, I neglected to tell anyone where exactly we were going,” Matthew said, a hint of guilt in his voice. “And it wouldn’t matter. I have seemingly gotten us quite lost.”

This was wonderful, just wonderful. Even if someone could assume where they had gone, it wouldn’t be useful. Matthew was wonderful at a great many things, but directions was not one of them.

“Well, since I must assume you brought something to eat, I suppose we could just get out and sit over there and hope someone comes by,” Mary said, beginning to get out of the car. 

Matthew nodded and got out the small picnic basket that he had Mrs. Patmore make earlier that morning. Then, he headed out to the grassy area beside the car, Mary following behind with George. 

When all was set up, Mary sat down next to Matthew and set George in front of her. He proceeded to grab one of the sandwiches and began to munch on it. Mary leaned back on her hands and glanced at Matthew, who looked slightly dejected. 

Mary pushed a lock of hair back off his face, as she often did, smiling warmly at him.

“It’s alright you know. I’m sure Papa or someone will come looking for us and take us back to the estate. Besides, we are all quite fine and this is very nice. ”

“I suppose you are right. Though I am terribly sorry that I got us stranded here in the first place,” Matthew said. 

“Well, we’ll just have to make the best of it, won’t we?” 

*********

Hours went by with no sign of anyone coming. The sun was high in the sky and blazing fiercely. George had fallen asleep on the picnic blanket after a little bit of running about, but his face was slightly flushed. Mary waved her hand in front of her face, beginning to feel the heat take its toll on her. Matthew had unbuttoned the top three buttons on his shirt and taken off his hat. 

The heat, however, wasn’t what began to make her feel nervous. Though the sun was high in the sky, she could see storm clouds rolling in from the distance. If someone didn’t find them soon, they would most likely get rained on. 

_ Oh, Matthew… now what are we to do? We are going to get rained on. I doubt Papa or anyone has started looking for us,  _ Mary thought, her sharp nature kicking in. 

Oh, how she wished she hadn’t come out here. She could feel her barbed tongue begin to rear its ugly head, but when she glanced over at Matthew, she realized that he was already worried. He hadn’t meant to do this, and his gesture was quite sincere. It wasn’t right for her to lash out at him just because she might get wet. 

As the storm clouds got closer, Mary stood up and began to gather the few things they had left and put them back into the basket. Matthew got up as well and put the picnic basket back in the trunk. Mary wrapped George up in the blanket they had used and moved to join her husband. 

“I think we should head down that road over there. There is enough tree coverage and we might stumble across someone who can take us back home,” Matthew said. He had obviously thought a great deal about this, trying to ascertain the best course of action, given the situation. 

“Lead the way,” Mary said, trying to convince herself that this wasn’t the worst thing in the world. 

The rain began to come down hard at first, then light, then hard again until it finally stopped. Mary’s feet ached and she was soaked to the bone. It was cold, and she had no concept of how late it was in the day. It appeared to be getting darker, which made it seem like it was quite late in the day. 

Poor George had been crying for quite a long time. The rain had gotten him very wet, even though he had been wrapped in a blanket. Mary was more worried about him than any of them since the rain could very well get him sick. 

Matthew had opted to carry George for a while since Mary had been doing most of the work. The road was quite muddy and some time ago, Mary had taken off her shoes because it was too hard to walk in them and was now carrying them, even though she doubted she’d ever be able to wear them again. 

Mary and Matthew hadn’t talked at all during this time, not like they had during the picnic. They just quietly trudged on, both praying someone would find them, or they would make it back to the house. 

The path was beginning to get slicker and muddier making it more likely that one or both would slip. Mary was the unlucky one, for she stepped on a particularly slippery spot and fell backward into the mud. 

“Mary! Are you alright?” Matthew asked, offering the hand that was not carrying George to her. 

“I’m fine,” Mary said, taking his hand and letting him help her up. 

While Mary was getting up, a car could be heard coming down the road. Both Matthew and Mary stopped moving as they heard it get closer and closer until they could see the bright headlights. 

The car stopped in front of them and the door opened and out stepped Tom Branson 

“There you are! We’ve been looking all over for you two! Are you alright?” He called out.

_ No, of course not! We are most certainly not alright. We have been walking for hours and I’m covered in mud,  _ Mary thought.

“Yes, we’re alright,” Matthew replied. 

“Well come on then! Sybil will kill me if I don’t bring you both back safely,” Tom said, getting back in the car. 

Wordlessly, Mary and Matthew climbed into the car. Mary couldn’t express how thankful she was that they were finally sitting and on their way back home. They had quite an adventure and it seemed like it was finally over, as long as they could ward off any scolding by their parents, or Violet. 

*********

It had taken them close to twenty minutes to make it back to the Abbey, and when they got there, the sky finally cleared up and it was very dark outside. George had been fast asleep in Matthew’s arms, so he turned him back over to the Nanny right when he made it inside. Thankfully George hadn’t caught a cold, which was what had worried his parents the most. As soon as George was being taken care of, Matthew left to go get cleaned up and changed. 

Dinner was already over, and Mary was exhausted. She didn’t feel that hungry and all she really wanted was to go to sleep. Tom had promised that he would tell her family that they were all fine and that they just needed to rest. 

Anna had come almost right after Mary had rung for her. She helped clean her up and get her dressed for bed. It felt lovely to be clean again and under the soft sheets. She sat up, forcing her eyes to stay open. She didn’t want to fall asleep yet, not before Matthew came.

As if he had been beckoned, Matthew appeared in the doorway and moved to the bed. He got in next to her. No one said anything for quite some time and Mary thought that she would fall asleep at any moment.

“I’m very sorry for everything that happened today. I’m sure it was something you found quite horrible,” Matthew said, breaking the silence. 

Mary turned to him and absentmindedly ran her fingers through his hair, pushing back the lock that always seemed to escape. It was true, the day had been quite awful. They had gotten lost, the car had broken down, it had rained and Mary had gotten quite muddy. In every right, it was not something one would ever want to experience.

And yet, the day had been quite wonderful, even with all its downfalls. They had gotten to be alone for a while and to speak about trivial things. It was lovely to pretend that they were the only people in the world. Even while they were walking down the road, wet and tired, they had gotten to enjoy each other’s company. It wasn’t at all what they had planned, and that was quite alright. 

Today had taught Mary something very important. Nothing was ever going to turn out just how she’d expect it to, but she’d always have someone to weather the storms with. 

“It was perfectly imperfect,” Mary finally said. “I don’t think we should ever tell any decent company about this day, but I’m very glad I went anyhow. I think I’ve learned that nothing we plan will ever go just right or always be easy. Even our own relationship will never be easy or perfect. But, I suppose that’s the mark of a strong relationship, ones who can make it through days like these and come out stronger.” She smiled at him. “Besides, the day wasn’t all bad. We did get to picnic together as a family.” 

Matthew was obviously surprised by his wife’s statement, but his surprise turned into a smile with a hint of a smirk behind it.

“I didn’t realize the great Lady Mary had changed so much that she would find a day walking in the rain as enjoyable,” Matthew said teasingly. “Oh how the times are changing.”

Mary rolled her eyes slightly. “The times may be changing, but I certainly haven’t changed that much,” she said. “You may have a profound impact on me, but making me like the rain is something I doubt you could do.” 

Matthew’s blue eyes glistened with mirth. “Of course not. I don’t think anyone could do that. You are quite stubborn.”

“I don’t think you can be the one to talk, darling. You are as stubborn as I am,” Mary replied.

They looked at each other in silence for a few moments, time seemingly lost. Mary felt as though she could get lost in those blue eyes that stared lovingly back at her. 

“I hope that you know, I love you so very much, Mary,” Matthew said in the velvety voice he only used when he was around her. 

Mary smiled and kissed him. “I know.”

She wasn’t as vocal about her affections as Matthew was, but she was sure that he knew that she loved him. Matthew lay back and gestured for her to come closer. Mary laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes. Whatever happened, they would be in it together, no matter what. And, based on what happened today, it appeared that they would be able to get through anything. She felt one of Matthew’s arms wrap around her before she succumbed to a much-needed rest. 

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I hope you enjoyed! I appreciate all reviews, constructive criticism included. I know it was short and lacked a lot of description, but it was mostly to practice. Let me know if you'd like to see more!


End file.
